Friday, May 11, 2007

Space interview from jail

This has to be one of the more unusual space-related interviews I've listened to. Walt Anderson was a guest on The Space Show, an internet call-in show, from a Washington, DC jail on 6 May.

Anderson, a telecommunications mogul and space entrepreneur, has pleaded guilty to three counts of evading taxes and fraud. He is now awaiting transfer to federal prison.

He's calling from a public jail phone, so each call is limited to 15 minutes, and occasionally an automated operator comes on the line and says things like, "This call will be terminated in two minutes." There are also background noises from the jail.

He talks about being arrested in the airport two years ago when returning from an overseas trip. He says he has been periodically placed in solitary confinement and has not been able to call his lawyers at times.